Daily Archives: 20th March 2016

This day combines Kame, representing death, sacrifice and spiritual transformation, with the number 7 which can also represent death and endings. It can be seen as an important day for finalising a transformative period.

The day 7 Kame can be seen as rather a prominent day as it is the name of one of the Lords of Xibalba, the underworld. In the Popol Vuh, the Mayan book of creation, 1 Kame and 7 Kame are the main villains in the story of the decent to the underworld of both sets of heroes, one Junajpu and seven Junajpu and the hero twins Junajpu and Xbalamkiej. In the story, Junajpu and Xbalamkiej venture to the underworld to avenge their father Jun Junajpu and bring back his head from Xibalba. They do this through self sacrifice and transformation, which allows them to become their magical selves. In this guise they trick 1 Kame and 7 Kame into being sacrificed and therefore overcome death itself. 7 Kame was the second to be sacrificed and after this Xibalba falls. The remaining Xibalbans are subjugated and denied their previous gifts. From this point on they would only receive “the guilty, the violent and the wretched”

“Such was the defeat of the rulers of Xibalba. The boys accomplished it only through wonders, only through self transformation.” – From Popol Vuh translated by Dennis Tedlock

Today is, therefore, a day to finally lay to rest anything which has been tormenting you. It is a day to release grief and a day to let go of your sadness. Your past sacrifices and transformation have strengthened you in order to make the final blow. In words more familiar to our mindset, it is the day to finally slay your dragon, to confront and overcome your demons. Once this is done you can re-emerge into the world, shining in your full brightness.

Kame relates to death, which often makes people nervous. However, this nawal is seen as an extremely positive day. Birth is the gateway into the mortal life, death the gateway into the eternal. In many shamanistic traditions, the initiate goes through several death experiences during training. This can be through the use of particular herbs, or sometimes through accident or illness. In these experiences the density of the mortal realm falls away and the greater understanding emerges. It can often be described as a spiritual transformation. In the Popul Vuh, the Mayan book of creation, the Hero Twins descend to the underworld, Xibalba, to confront the Lords of Death. They pass the many challenges set for them, but eventually end up being tricked by the Lord of Death. Instead of giving in, the Hero Twins choose to sacrifice themselves. They give instructions to a pair of seers to convince the Lords of Death to grind the Twins’ bones to dust and throw the dust in the river. Everything went according to plan and five days later the twins appeared as catfish in the river, then transformed into vagabond “magicians”. In this way we see a literal transformation from the crusader (Tijax) through death (Kame) to the higher self (Ix). This is the potential of the Kame day, to face ones fears and attain a higher perspective, to advance the journey of your soul. This is also a day to remember your ancestors and friends that have passed into the other realm, to remember what they taught you, and to thank them for their wisdom that helped you to grow.

The number seven is the mid-point of the range of numbers. It is known as a number of death and endings, which would seem strange as it is only half way through. It is another representation of the change of state of the soul, showing half of the journey (1-6) in the mortal world and half (8-13) in the otherworld. If we imagine the numbers 1 through 13 as a pyramid, the number seven would be at the top. Seven is the number of balance, it gives the ability to weigh up situations and see all points of view. While this may be very noble, it may lead to indecision.